Trillanes' plunder accusation vs. Duterte, Go a rehash of old allegation —Palace

Malacañang on Monday dared former Senator Antonio Trillanes IV to file charges against President Rodrigo Duterte and Senator Bong Go after he accused the two of committing plunder.

In a press briefing, presidential spokesperson Harry Roque said Trillanes' accusation of a P6-billion plunder was a rehash of an old one that went nowhere.

"Lumang tugtugin na po 'yan. Binato na iyan noon, wala naman siyang napatunayan. Isampa na po niya [ang kaso] ngayon kung sa paniniwala niya meron siyang ebidensiya," Roque said.

(That is an old allegation and he was not able to prove that. He should file the case now if he has evidence.)

"Iyong sovereign immunity po, hindi naman ibig sabihin na hindi magpapatuloy ang imbestigasyon. Hindi lang isasampa sa ngayon kung may nakita ng ebidensiya," he added.

(The President’s immunity from suit does not mean he cannot be investigated. If there is indeed evidence, the filing of the case would just be deferred.)

According to Trillanes, a construction firm owned by Go’s family bagged P6 billion worth of contracts from 2007 to 2018, broken down to P5.1 billion secured in 2017 and 2018 or during the first two years when Duterte was already in power and P1.5 billion when Duterte was the mayor of Davao City.

Go is a close ally of Duterte and served as special assistant to the president before he was elected senator in 2019. 

Trillanes argued that since Go has served as Duterte's special assistant since 1998, he used his position, in cooperation with Duterte, to secure government contracts for his family members, which violates the Constitution and is tantamount to plunder.

Roque said Go's family earning a living by owning a construction firm does not prove corruption.

“Contracts go back as far as 2007. Ano naman an pakialam ni Senator Go roon? Baka naka-shorts pa sa si Senator noon,” Roque said.

(How could Senator Go know about such contracts dating back 2007? He must be very young that time.)

“Iyong paghahanapbuhay po ng pamilya ni Senator Go sa construction, hindi po ebidensiya ‘yun,” he added.

(Earning a living out of construction business is not an evidence of corruption.)  —KBK/BM, GMA News